A Swim in the Lake
by Jessica Pendragon
Summary: Arida rolls the coin between her fingers. Such a small thing to feel so heavy, but she knows its meaning adds more weight to it. And yet she can't help this lightness growing inside her chest as she looks up into his eyes.


Arida rolls the coin between her fingers. Such a small thing to feel so heavy, but she knows its meaning adds more weight to it. And yet she can't help this lightness growing inside her chest as she looks up into his eyes.

"I don't have anything to give you in return," she says and tucks it deep, safe, within a pouch around her belt. Cullen takes her hand when she is finished and brings it to his lips, brushing a tender kiss across her knuckles.

"That's all right. I have everything I need."

The softness of his voice shivers down her spine and curls her toes. His kiss still lingers like a fog over her mind and she is sure she will float away at any moment. Arida wants to say something clever in return, but words drift above her head in meaningless patterns.

Instead she bends down and dips her fingers into the calm water, hoping that the chill might snap her to clarity, but she finds the the water is surprisingly warm instead.

"It feels nice," she says and an idea comes to her. She stands and turns to Cullen with a grin. "Warm enough to swim I think. Would you care to join me, Commander?"

"Here? Now?"

Arida answers by removing her belt with its precious cargo and very gently placing it on the deck below. She shrugs the ivory overcoat off her shoulders and lets it to pool at her elbows. A brow raises, issuing a challenge. Cullen glances at her, stunned for a moment, before a smirk twists his lips up. He reaches for the straps on his breastplate and she marvels at how quickly his fingers work across the complicated armor.

They both watch each other, breathless and blood pumping fast, as more and more layers fall away between them. Arida can feel the scorch marks Cullen's eyes leave on her skin as she removes her overshirt to reveal the thin one beneath. She takes her time, teasing her fingers at the bottom of it, before lifting it up and over her head.

When she reemerges and drops the white cotton to the side, she finds Cullen's efforts have ceased completely. All his attention is dancing against the sharp lines of her collarbone or dipping down over the simple breast band to follow the soft plains of her stomach.

"Maker," Cullen mumbles and she can't help but giggle. She bends over and lifts a foot up to begin working at her boots.

"Something wrong, Comm-AH!" In an instant she loses her balance, desperately hopping on one leg and arms flailing to right herself, but it is to no avail. There is a moment where time seems to still as the calm, Crestwood sky looms above her before water slams against her back and devours her whole.

The first seconds of submersion are fraught with panic as Arida tries to right herself in the dark water. Her boot is half off her leg and soon fills with water to weigh her down. She fights with the lacing and kicks it off the remainder of the way. The following seconds she considers letting herself drown. Anything would be better than facing this absolute humiliation in front of the man she's coming to love.

Something wraps around her middle and she breathes in, startled. Water floods her mouth and down into her lungs as she kicks and claws blindly at what holds her tight. She is pulled up and breaches the surface, spluttering and gasping, struggling until she hears his voice.

"Arida!"

Fingers pull at the heavy curtain of hair across her face and reveal Cullen's concerned gaze. He's so close and she realizes it is his arms that encircle her. That he is in the water _with_ her.

"What are you doing?" she asks between coughs.

"When you didn't surface I thought…I was worried. Are you all right?"

Arida wraps arms around his neck and buries her face into his shoulder to hide. He still wears the majority of his clothes and she can't believe that this happened, that her clumsiness would see them both thrown overboard. Despite her embarrassment, the ridiculousness of the situation bubbles up inside and escapes in quiet laughter at first until she feels Cullen's chest rumble with his own in answering.

They stand in the shallows as their combined voices ripple across the water and echoes off stone walls. "Creators, I'm so sorry," she says in-between breaths.

Cullen's hand moves down and pulls her leg up around his waist and her other follows willingly. He brushes the remainder of stuck hair from her cheek and she leans into his palm. The laughter in his eyes is replaced with something else. The water is warm, but it is his touch, the closeness of his body, that sends bursts of heat swirling inside. "We're in the water. Now what?"

"Well," she pauses, chewing on her bottom lip in mock consideration, and plays with the curls at the base of his neck. "We could look for my boot? Unless you have something better in mind?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," he replies before kissing her.


End file.
